http://www.panews.com/articles/2005/02/08/front/keyleft.txt [節錄] But again, Lidge wishes to tweak his bag of tricks with a changeup to complement his nasty slider and fastball. "I threw it in the minor leagues and I haven't thrown it a whole lot in my first two years in the major leagues," Lidge said. "But I want to start bringing it out. I've been working on a split-finger changeup and a regular changeup. So hopefully one of those pitches will come along for me a little bit this year." Why would such a power pitcher as the 28-year-old Lidge be interested in throwing a change of pace pitch? The answer starts with the influence which seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens has made in Brad's career. Lidge would sneak into the clubhouse and would watch television during Clemens' memorable 2004 season with the Astros. The experience enabled Lidge to learn a great deal about pitching from one of the sports' all-time greats. "I gained a lot," Lidge explained. "I learned a lot from Roger's workout ethic and I've tried to repeat that as best as I can. The way he approaches hitters, his command, and his confidence on the mound, the way he sets guys up, you don't see everybody do. It's different and I've tried to watch it. It's something I've been able to learn a lot from seeing." Lidge struck out a whopping 43 percent of the hitters he faced in 2004 -- the best rate in the major leagues. Five other pitchers -- Armando Benitez, Billy Wagner, Tom Gordon, Ugueth Urbina and Johan Santana -- along with Lidge held both righthanded and lefthanded batters under .200 from both sides of the batter's box. Yet Lidge did not feel content by his terrific achievements of l ast summer. "I want to improve," he said. "I had a few outings at the start of the season when I felt I could have been a little bit better. There's always room for improvement. There's always room for locating the fastball better. Plus I intend to throw the changeup some this year so hopefully, those things will help me to improve." If Lidge should add the split-finger pitch to his arsenal in 2005, it would be a first. Clemens would appear to have perfected that pitch at times last year in his National League Cy Young Award-winning season. Roger also helped Brad to learn about the splitter, which acts as a changeup. "I haven't thrown a splitter in a game yet but having Roger Clemens on our team meant a lot," he said. "You can learn how he grips it and learn from one of the best." --

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